Renowned cricket analyst Dr Nauman Niaz has strongly criticised the selection of Pakistan’s ODI team after their defeat in the opening match of the series against Bangladesh's national cricket team.

 

Speaking during a discussion on a private TV channel, Niaz said Pakistan cricket has entered a difficult phase and questioned the direction of the team.

 

“This is the real phase of our cricket. From here we are going to go further down, not forward. Unfortunately, we tried to push the T20 format into ODI cricket,” he said.

 

Niaz also referred to a previous statement by former Pakistan captain Younis Khan about Babar Azam.

 

“Younis Khan once said on social media that in the attempt to bring down one Babar Azam, the entire Pakistan cricket has been brought down,” he said.

 

He also questioned Pakistan’s performance in the recent ICC Men's T20 World Cup and criticised the management’s explanations regarding team changes.

 

“My question is that your team had a debacle in the T20 World Cup, and then your head coach went to New Zealand and later reached Dhaka and said, ‘We did not drop players, we are giving youngsters an opportunity.’ The reality is that he had not even seen those youngsters play,” Niaz said.

 

Niaz also raised concerns about the decision to leave out Babar Azam and Saim Ayub from the ODI squad.

 

“Should Babar Azam be dropped from ODIs, which is his best format? Should Saim Ayub be dropped from ODIs? And where is Saud Shakeel, who used to rotate the strike in the middle order? In the last ODI he played, he scored a fifty against India in the Champions Trophy,” he said.

 

Pakistan omitted Babar Azam and Saim Ayub from the ongoing ODI series against Bangladesh and included six uncapped players in the squad.

 

In the first ODI, Bangladesh defeated Pakistan national cricket team convincingly. Nahid Rana received the player of the match award after dismantling Pakistan’s batting line-up.

 

Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 30.4 overs, and Bangladesh chased the target in 15.1 overs with two wickets down.

 

Pakistan now continue preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, with no T20 international matches scheduled for the next six months.